Midwives who worked within a 'seriously dysfunctional' maternity unit are finally to face misconduct charges - more than seven years after the death of a baby boy.

Joshua Titcombe died aged just nine days old in November 2008 after midwives at the Furness General Hospital in Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria, failed to spot he had a treatable infection despite his parents, James and Hoa Titcombe, raising concerns that he had been unwell for some days before his birth.

Now midwives Gretta Dixon and Catherine McCullough are to appear before a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary panel next month on counts of misconduct over the way they treated Mrs Titcombe.

Joshua Titcombe died aged just nine days old in November 2008 after midwives at the Furness General Hospital in Barrow-In-Furness, Cumbria, failed to spot he had a treatable infection

They face being struck off the midwifery register after failing to provide the correct care for the Dalton mum when she arrived at the maternity unit in the early stages of labour on October 26, 2008.

Mr Titcombe described the delay to bring those involved in the care of his wife and son to a fitness to practise hearing as 'utterly disgraceful'.

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He said: 'It should never have taken seven years to get to this point.

'The fact that the trust themselves have taken no action and these midwives have continued to work within the hospital all this time is deeply wrong.

'There's no excuse for it. They continue to let families down.'

Joshua's parents, James and Hoa Titcombe, raising concerns that he had been unwell for some days before his birth

Now midwives Gretta Dixon and Catherine McCullough from Furness General Hospital are to appear before a Nursing and Midwifery Council disciplinary panel next month

Dixon and McCullough, who are both believed to remain in the employment of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Furness General Hospital, are charged with failing to refer Mrs Titcombe to a medical practitioner despite the fact that she reported feeling unwell on arrival.

McCullough, who was cleared of nine misconduct charges by the NMC last year after she was alleged to have mismanaged a labour at the hospital in September 2013, despite admitting to three, also faces a second charge of failing to take the required samples necessary to test for infection.

The two midwives have no current restrictions on their practice by the NMC,

The date of the hearing will fall more than a year after the Morecambe Bay maternity scandal was officially exposed within the Morecambe Bay Investigation Report by patient safety expert Dr Bill Kirkup.

In his 222-page document, Dr Kirkup declared a 'lethal mix' of failings had led to the preventable deaths of 11 babies and one mother at FGH between 2004 and 2013.

Three other midwives involved in the care of baby Joshua at the hospital - Lindsey Biggs, Joanne Watts and Holly Parkinson - have not yet been called to a panel hearing.

Jackie Smith, Chief Executive and Registrar of the NMC, said: 'I have personally met with some of the families affected by the tragic events at Morecambe Bay and apologised for the time it has taken to conclude these cases, which have taken longer than any of us would have wanted.

'However, this has been a complex investigation involving multiple agencies and individuals. We are committed to concluding the remaining cases as quickly as possible.'